Our staff will hold an informative discussion with you before each procedure. During this discussion, they will explain the procedures and any risks involved and answer your questions. As a well-informed patient, you will be better prepared for what to expect and this will help to alleviate any fears you may have.

Very important: if there is anything you do not understand, please ask!

We place particular emphasis on hygiene measures to protect patients, visitors and our staff from dangerous pathogens. The hygiene recommendations of the Robert Koch Institute are strictly implemented in our clinics.

Particular emphasis is placed on the correct handling of problem germs. Patients with a high risk potential for this type of pathogen are tested for specific pathogens upon admission to the clinics. This is done, for example, by taking swabs from the nose, throat and wounds.

When you are admitted, please be sure to let us know if you ...

• are aware of colonisation with a multi-resistant germ,
• have received antibiotic therapy in the last six months,
• have had an inpatient hospital stay of more than three days in the past 12 months,
• have been abroad, e.g. Southern Europe, North Africa, Asia,
• have direct contact with animals in your profession, or
• have a chronic wound (skin ulcer, gangrene or deep soft tissue infections).

Thank you for your support.

During your stay in hospital, you will come into contact with many different people. Specialists in the diagnostic departments, nursing staff and doctors, physiotherapists, service and administrative staff. Every member of staff you come into contact with wears a name badge so that you know who you are dealing with. If in doubt, please feel free to ask.

With their consent, patients receive a patient identification wristband with their name, date of birth and a barcode. Please do not remove the patient wristband until you are discharged, as it serves your safety and protects against mix-ups. If you lose it, please ask for a new one.

Of course, we also pay attention to your safety during your examination and treatment process – please help us with this.

The patient wristband is already very important for the regular recording of your vital signs. The modern, computer-assisted device that measures your vital signs requires the barcode on your wristband. It uses this to assign the results to your digital patient file. This allows, for example, doctors' rounds to be better prepared with up-to-date data.

Wherever people gather in confined spaces, the risk of transmitting pathogens increases. 
It is therefore very important to observe hygiene measures.

Thorough hand disinfection is carried out before and after an examination and during activities involving a risk of transmission. This protects you, other patients and ourselves from possible pathogens.

As a patient, you are also strongly requested to disinfect your hands when you...

• enter or leave the room or ward,
• enter or leave examination areas,
• enter or leave the clinic building,
• want to eat, and
• after contact with mucous membranes (after blowing your nose and using the toilet).

Please also ask your visitors to thoroughly disinfect their hands regularly.

Almost every hospital stay involves taking medication. To enable us to provide you with the best possible care in hospital, please bring your current medication plan with dosage information with you to the hospital.

Please also inform us about any over-the-counter medications you are taking. Please refrain from taking any medications during your hospital stay that have not been discussed with our doctors.

If you are unfamiliar with a medication, please ask us about it.

Upon discharge, we will provide you with a medication plan.

AMTS is the entirety of measures to ensure an optimal medication process with the aim of reducing medication errors and thus avoidable risks for patients undergoing drug therapy. Medications are provided according to the dual control principle. This provision, control and administration of medication is documented digitally.

Our clinic software automatically notifies the medical service when medication is prescribed if interactions occur or dosages need to be adjusted.
 

Falls can never be prevented 100 per cent – neither at home, on the road nor in hospital. 
In hospital in particular, there are risk factors that can lead to falls. You are in an unfamiliar environment and may be restricted in your movements.

Upon admission, we assess your personal risk of falling and advise you on the safety of your footwear. Our nursing staff will show you the bathroom and the most important routes on the ward so that you can find your way around at night. We ensure that you always have a bell within reach.

You can also help to prevent falls:

• Wear closed-toe shoes without heels.
• Use the bell if you need help getting up and walking.
• Only get up on your own if this has been recommended.
• If you use walking aids, ring the bell if you need something from the cupboard.

A pressure ulcer (decubitus ulcer) is damage to the skin caused by pressure, which in severe cases can also lead to long-term complications. Risk factors for pressure ulcers include:

• prolonged pressure on one area of the body (e.g. due to bed rest),
• incorrect pressure on a part of the body, for example due to paralysis or sensory impairment,
• previously damaged tissue or an existing pressure ulcer,
• localised and general circulatory disorders,
• parts of the body where the skin is in direct contact with the bone,
• underweight or overweight.

When you are admitted to hospital, we will ask you about your risk factors and assess your risk of pressure ulcers. If this risk is high, we will take the following measures, for example:

• Promotion of movement and mobilisation: We will support you with aids and advise you on how to use them.
• Pressure relief: We will use pressure-reducing aids if you are unable to move sufficiently or relieve pressure.
• Skin care: We closely monitor the areas of skin at risk and care for your skin according to your skin type.

You can reduce your risk and support us by ensuring that you get sufficient exercise and mobilisation. 
Move actively in bed; even the slightest changes in position lead to pressure relief. 
Wear well-fitting shoes that are not too tight.

Checklists are a proven control tool in aviation for improving safety by preventing undesirable events. Scientific studies show that using checklists before, during and after surgery helps to identify and prevent errors. They serve to increase safety in all aspects of surgery. Before the operation/endoscopy (‘team time-out’), we will ask you once again about important symptoms, medications and illnesses and mark the part of the body where the procedure will take place with a pen.

Before administering the anaesthetic, we will ask you once again for your name and date of birth and ask you to show us exactly which part of your body is to be operated on.

During joint visits with your doctor and the nurse responsible for your care, we will discuss the planned diagnostic, therapeutic, medical and nursing measures with you. If there is anything you do not understand, please do not hesitate to ask.

Each ward has fixed visiting hours, during which you are requested to remain in your room. The ward staff will inform you of the exact times.

If you – or your bed neighbour – have language problems, we have a list of interpreters at the hospital to help overcome any language difficulties.

The Klinikum Nordfriesland attaches great importance to compliance with hygiene regulations and the prevention of infections. This is ensured by a dedicated department with well-trained specialists, who are supported by hygiene officers in the department.

Please help us to prevent infections by observing the following rules:

• No visits to the hospital if visitors are ill themselves (e.g. cold, flu, gastrointestinal diseases with diarrhoea/vomiting).
• Please do not bring perishable food as gifts (homemade hot meals, egg salad, yoghurt, perishable fruit, etc.).
• no flowers,
• regular hand hygiene! Appropriate dispensers are available everywhere,
• visits only in small groups and keep them as short as possible,
• regularly ventilate patient rooms,
• touch wounds, catheters, plasters, venous catheters or infusions or change settings.

Ask if you are unsure about a situation.

We use a Critical Incident Reporting System (CIRS). This is a sanction-free reporting system for near misses and incidents. The system was originally developed for the aviation industry. The aim of using a CIRS is to enable safe, straightforward and anonymous mutual learning from critical incidents.

In addition, internal safety audits are carried out by the quality management and hospital hygiene departments with the aim of working with employees and managers to identify and eliminate potential sources of error.

All employees at the hospital must participate in compulsory annual training courses on fire safety, data protection, occupational safety, hygiene and resuscitation.

Our complaints management system serves to increase patient satisfaction. Your complaints are used to identify areas for improvement and optimise processes. If you have a reason to complain, please do not hesitate to contact us. We are also delighted to receive praise, of course.

FIRE SAFETY is a top priority at our hospital. We pay meticulous attention to fire safety during ongoing operations and all construction work. Safety equipment is kept up to date and maintained accordingly. Fire and smoke alarm systems are installed in the clinics.

Nevertheless, we are of course also dependent on your help.

Familiarise yourself with the escape routes on your ward!

For safety reasons, lighting candles or other open fires in the hospital facilities is expressly prohibited. 
There is also a general ban on smoking in all buildings of the Nordfriesland Hospital and on the hospital grounds, which also applies to e-cigarettes.

Smoking is only permitted in the designated smoking areas outside the buildings.

Cigarette butts must be disposed of safely in the containers or ashtrays provided in these areas.
 

In the event of a fire, please follow these rules of conduct:

• Report any fire immediately
• Push-button alarm and emergency call (see ‘What to do in case of fire’)!
• Close the doors to prevent the fire from spreading!
• Remain calm!
• Follow the instructions of the hospital staff.
• Warn people who are in danger and help those who are helpless.
• Find out about ‘your’ shortest escape route.
• Use the signposted escape routes.
• Do not use lifts in the event of a fire (risk of suffocation!).

Regular fire safety training and drills are held.

The mattresses in the hospital beds are special rescue mattresses that can be used to transport patients in the event of evacuation of individual areas. 

All employees at our facilities are obliged to treat personal data collected in your patient file during the course of your treatment as strictly confidential. Due to professional confidentiality and data protection, you as a patient are entitled to confidentiality. Only co-treating doctors and your general practitioner and/or specialist will receive the information necessary for your treatment.

This is also the reason why we do not provide any information about patients over the telephone.